Memoria In Aeterna
by DramaQueen1193
Summary: Harry's thoughts on Severus Snape after Voldemort's death.  CONTAINS DEATHLY HALLOWS SPOILERS.  NO SLASH.


Disclaimer: I so totally do not own Harry Potter, because if I did, then Severus Snape would be alive right now!!

sobs Severus Snape should've lived!!! He's the most awesome Slytherin in existence!!

So now, I write this, in Professor Severus Snape's memory.

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Lord Voldemort had been dead for two weeks. Both celebration and mourning were occurring all across the Wizarding World. People crowded around Harry 24/7, asking questions, congratulating, thanking, asking for advice, and generally smothering the seventeen year old wizard. It annoyed Harry to no end; after everything he'd done, couldn't the Wizarding World let him be fore just a little while? He wanted to grieve, and to think, and to remember, but no one would leave him alone.

When he could take it no longer, when the cacophony of sounds threatened to drown his entire being, he put on his Invisibility Cloak and left.

He wandered through Hogwarts unseen, remembering a time, a time of peace, when he walked through the halls as an innocent.

He was innocent no longer; he hadn't been for years. Ever since he was eleven and he faced Quirrell and Voldemort, he had lost a part of his innocence. But he remembered that day, his first true Christmas since his parents died, the day he received the Invisibility Cloak.

He remembered sneaking into the Restricted Section and the screaming book. He remembered running away from the patrolling Filch and Snape. He remembered the abandoned room that held the Mirror of Erised, what he saw in the mirror, and the number of times he stood in front of it in an almost drugged daze at the sight of what could've been.

Harry wondered what he would see in the Mirror of Erised if he looked upon it now. No doubt he'd see his parents. Sirius and Remus would be there too, along with Cedric, Tonks, the Weasleys, Mad-Eye, and the countless others who died…perhaps even Snape.

At the thought of Snape, Harry frowned contemplatively. He walked outside to the courtyard and sat on the bench, looking up at the dark sky scattered with bright stars.

He thought of the memories Snape had given him before he died. The fact that he and Harry's mother, Lily, had been friends was pushed into the back of his mind when it was revealed that Harry himself was a Horcrux.

But now, now that he had peace and quiet, now that he could actually think, he thought that everything made so much more sense.

It explained why Snape loathed Harry so much and protected him just the same. He hated Harry, not only because he reminded Snape of James, Snape's number one tormentor, but also because he reminded Snape of everything he had lost. He had loved Lily for so long, and he lost Lily to James and also to the Dark Lord. Snape had himself to blame that Lord Voldemort went after Lily in the first place. It was no wonder that Snape was so bitter; he was plagued with grief and guilt and longing to make things right, to go back in time and undo what he had done.

He knew, as well as everyone else, that in the end, it would come down between Voldemort and Harry, and no matter how much Snape resented him, he protected Harry so that one day, Severus could be free. One day, Voldemort would die for killing Lily.

And Severus protected Harry because he loved Lily, because he knew Lily loved Harry. But Lily had loved Harry so much that she died for him, and Severus resented him so much for that.

He resented Harry so much for having Lily's eyes, so green and beautiful…but they looked upon him with loathing, and not friendship like Lily's eyes once did.

And when Severus looked upon Harry, he saw what could've been, and what could never be again.

Harry sighed and once again looked up at the stars. He had suffered a lot in Snape's hands: the torturous Occlumency lessons, the humiliating Potions classes, and the cutting remarks, but he hadn't suffered alone, like Snape had. He hoped that Severus Snape was now in peace. Without him, Harry would've lost everything.

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_8 Years Later_

Ginny and Harry looked upon their second son in a way that only other parents could understand. It was a look filled with unconditional love.

Their second-born had small tufts of black hair, and almost glowing emerald green eyes. He probably looked like Harry when he was a baby (although Harry had pictures of himself when he was young, he had no pictures of himself right after birth).

Ginny was panting and sweating, and after going through 22hours of labor, she had every reason to be. But she was smiling tenderly at the small bundle in her arms, as if she hadn't been screaming bloody murder just before.

"Oh, Harry, he's beautiful, isn't he?"

Harry smiled and replied, "Yes, he is. What should we name him?"

Ginny thought for a moment and said, "I think we should name him Albus. What about a middle name?"

Harry didn't even pause to think. "Severus. His middle name should be Severus."

And Albus Severus Potter was born into the world.

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_11 Years Later_

It was James's third year at Hogwarts, and Albus's first. Albus was very worried that he would be put into Slytherin, a house that James said was the worst sort. He knew that his mom's family had all been put into Gryffindor, and so was his dad's family. His uncle Ron loathed Slytherin, even though he acquiesced that some Slytherins were decent when he was in Aunt Hermione's company.

But he worried still, because he didn't want his parents or his extended family to hate him.

So, before he got on the train, before he went to Hogwarts to face a numerable amount of uncertainties, he asked his dad, "What if I'm in Slytherin?"

Albus watched his father's face closely, and his dad crouched down and replied, "Albus Severus, you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."

Even though that comforted Albus just a tiny little bit, he couldn't help saying, "But _just say_—"

His father interrupted. "—then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student, won't it? It doesn't matter to us, Al. But if it matters to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account."

Albus scrunched up his face in confusion. "Really?"

"It did for me."

Albus looked at his dad in wonder. His father, Harry Potter, the one who defeated Lord Voldemort, was almost a Slytherin? It was certainly a surprise. But he supposed that if someone as great and kind as his father was almost a Slytherin, then the Slytherin House couldn't be that bad.

That day, Albus Severus Potter entered Hogwarts and started off in a whole new adventure… as a Slytherin.

Harry, when he found out about it, smiled, and thought of Severus Snape.

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A/N: There, done!! This was so hard to write! Severus Snape's feelings were so complex and confusing… hope I actually did good, though!

Anyways, this was written in the name of Severus Snape, and the book "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

Please read and review.


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